Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, families today shoulder tremendous financial burdens. The USDA's 2003 report estimates two-parent middle income families spend between $9,000 and $10,000 a year to raise one child. With 61 percent of working families relying on some form of child care, costs add up very quickly especially in families with more than one child. But it is not just child care expenses that families face. Many families have non-child dependents, including disabled parents or spouses living at home. Dependent care accounts were created to assist families with two working parents to care for the young children or help these families who care for a disabled spouse or parent. These accounts allow up to $5,000 to be withheld pretax to help pay for this important care. Unfortunately, these accounts are not being utilized to their fullest extent. They were created in a use-it-or-lose-it fashion which often causes its users to underestimate the amount of money they need to put away, shortchanging the very people it was intended to help.”